In the NY Times:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>Mastery of Timing, Concern for Details<BR>Pilar Rioja<BR>Repertorio Español</B><P>Watching Pilar Rioja present a Spanish dance program in this intimate space sets one marveling over her concentration, focus, mastery of timing and concern for detail.<P>Her solo performance last Saturday afternoon featured several forms of Spanish dance, both traditional and modern. And the works were distinctive not only stylistically, but also in their emotional content.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/30/arts/30PERF.html" TARGET=_blank><B>More in the second section of linked item</B></A><BR>

Sylvaine Sidorowicz in the Village Voice:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>For her 28th season at the intimate Repertorio Español (March), Pilar Rioja delivered flamenco that stirred the emotions of eager audiences, which filled the house for three full weeks.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><a href=http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0219/sidorowicz.php target=_blank><B>More</B></a>, in the second item of the linked article

Jack Anderson in the New York Times:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>Introspective and Stormy, Spanish Style</B><P>When Pilar Rioja danced her solo program on Wednesday night for Repertorio Español, a remarkable variety of Spanish styles came alive, thanks to the magic of her stage presence. <P>Two solos made her seem to be someone inhabiting a world all her own. She began "Soleá" by sitting still, her face averted from the audience and her focus entirely on her musicians. Then she slowly rose and danced, proudly and stormily, as if carried away by the music.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/02/arts/dance/02RIOJ.html" TARGET=_blank><B>More</B></A><BR>

Pilar Rioja Gramercy Arts Theatre, New York By Hilary Ostlere for The Financial Times

Pilar Rioja is one of our most constant presences in Spanish dance, a highly esteemed practitioner who returns to New York regularly. At 70 her fire burns as brightly as ever. She's still able to convincingly project a young girl in love as easily as a mourning matriarch. Her castanet playing remains crisply defined, her footwork as fierce or light as the dance requires. She is indubitably an artist at the height of her powers who has the emotional intensity of a Martha Graham or a Callas.

Her recitals, carefully planned to show her off in the little jewel box of a theatre surrounds her with excellent musicians, in this case Flamenco singers Alfonso Cid and David Castellano and guitarists José Luis Negrete and Arturo Martínez with Pablo Zinger at the piano.

Pilar Rioja: Repertorio Espanol New Yorkby HILARY OSTLERE for the Financial Times

She is not afraid to appear grim-faced and plain, yet is so consummate an artist that when she appears for "Bulerías y Rumbas", an upbeat number, she's saucily seductive in fringed scarlet dress with a ruffled train. Playing haughty at times, Rioja allows the undercurrent of Latin rhythm to inspire provocative hip flicks, head-tossings and fancy footwork as she charmingly deceives the audience into believing in her perpetual youthfulness.

Full-Bodied Flamenco (Heart and Soul, Too)by ROSLYN SULCAS for the New York Times

In "Farruca," she presented a superbly stern and imposing version of the zapateado, originally a technically demanding dance for men. Dressed in slim high-waisted matador pants and a knotted white shirt, stamping her feet in syncopated tattoos, Ms. Rioja exuded dignity and pride through dramatic circling arms and remarkably articulate hands.

Like very high priestesses of separate and ancient religious cults, the dance soloists Pilar Rioja and Roxane D’Orléans Juste have come together to share a program, “2 Styles, 1 Passion,” at Repertorio Español. You could say that each in her own way is a dancer of the old school, at least in the sense that Randall Jarrell applies to a character in his novel “Pictures From an Institution” when he says, “And if her school had been any older it would have been dead.” It has been years since I have witnessed performances so wholly devoid of spontaneity and yet so anxious to indicate great artistry.

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